COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF BACTERIAL BIOBURDEN AND THE ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITIES OF SELECTED BACTERIA FROM FAECAL DROPPINGS OF COMMERCIAL AND FREE-RANGE CHICKENS, SAMARU, ZARIA

Abstract
The widespread use of antibiotics against bacterial diseases in the poultry industry has been associated with the development of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria. This poses a threat to the public worldwide since they are in contact directly when handling animals and indirectly through food. The purpose of this study was to determine the bacterial load, prevalence and antibiotic susceptibilities of Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus sp. Faecal droppings were randomly taken from one hundred (100) broilers and one hundred (100) free-range (local) chickens. The inocula were cultured on various media and incubated for 24-48 hours at 370C for identification. The pure isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility tests using the disc diffusion technique. It was established that there was no significant difference between the total plate counts of faecal droppings from commercial and free-range chickens. The comparison of the antibiotic susceptibilities of the isolates from commercial and free-range chickens showed no significant difference statistically except in streptomycin where S. aureus from free-range chickens were more susceptible than those from commercial chickens. High susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, chloramphenicol and high resistance to cloxacillin, cotrimoxazole and tetracycline by the isolates were observed. The source of antibiotic resistance may not necessarily be originating from the feeds, but from the immediate environment of the chickens. This may be as a result of misuse of antibiotics during treatment and control of diseases affecting chicken and other domesticated animals
Description
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE POST-GRADUATE SCHOOL, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN MICROBIOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY, FACULTY OF SCIENCE, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, NIGERIA. JULY, 2014
Keywords
COMPARATIVE,, ANALYSES,, BACTERIAL,, BIOBURDEN,, ANTIBIOTIC,, SUSCEPTIBILITIES,, FAECAL,, DROPPINGS,, COMMERCIAL,, FREE-RANGE,, CHICKENS,
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